When One Becomes Two
by septasonicxx
Summary: Originally titled 'Clone Strife'. Cloud comes back to Seventh Heaven declaring he's found a cure for geostigma and takes Denzel to be cured, but there's a catch... he's not Cloud.
1. Chapter 1

The door to Seventh Heaven burst open with crash and Tifa jumped, looking up from where she had been cleaning the top of the bench to see Cloud rushing over to her with an over-joyed smile on his face. She hadn't seen him looking so happy in such a long time that it took her a moment to react.

"Cloud?" She dropped the rag she had been using and moved to walk around the bench, watching curiously as he gripped the edge of the bench and continued smiling at her, the excitement practically pouring out of him.

"I did it. I did it, Tifa!" Cloud said as she approached him. His happiness was contagious and she found herself smiling back at him.

"Did what?" she asked with a light laugh.

Instead of speaking to answer her, Cloud let go of the bench and then reached his right arm around to his left, gripping the cloth that hung there and yanking it hard. A ripping sound informed them of the severed connection and then Tifa found herself staring at his bare arm and wondering what the significance of it was.

"Cloud...?" she asked softly.

"It's gone! My geostigma!" Cloud said to her, dropping the torn sleeve and gripping her shoulders excitedly. "I found a cure; where's Denzel?"

Tifa stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, his words slowly sinking in and beginning to make sense to her. "A... a cure? Are you sure?"

"Well you don't see anything here, do you?" Cloud asked, moving his head to indicate his arm.

"But how?" Tifa asked, a smile now on her lips. Cloud let go of her shoulders and she grabbed his hand, dragging him towards the back where the stairs led up to the children's rooms.

"There's no time to explain," Cloud said as they almost ran to find the kids. "But I promise once I get back with Denzel I'll tell you all about it."

"Shouldn't we be running around telling others as well?" Tifa asked as they stopped in front of Denzel's bedroom door. "Imagine the hope it would give them!"

"Not yet, Tifa," Cloud said quietly. "There's only so much of the cure at the moment and to declare it to everyone would only upset them again when not everyone can be healed. But once we've got Denzel fixed up and I've explained everything to you, I'm going to help them in trying to make more."

Tifa considered it and then nodded. "Alright."

Cloud then turned and knocked on the door, to which it opened almost immediately and Denzel's head poked out.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You have to come with me right now!" Cloud said, not being able to keep the grin off his face.

"What's happened?" Denzel asked, opening his door wider and frowning. Marlene appeared from her own room and wandered over to also find out what everyone was talking about so excitedly.

"I'm going to cure you, Denzel." Cloud said quietly. The brown-haired boy stared up at him with wide, shocked eyes before letting out a choked laugh and then catching himself again.

"You're- you're not joking around?" he asked, his expression showing that if this was all just a joke it would shatter his mind.

"I wouldn't joke about this!" Cloud said firmly, reaching down and grabbing the boys arm before leading him back over to the stairs.

"Really?" Marlene squealed as she ran after them. "Denzel's gonna be fixed?"

"Yes, but you have to stay here with Tifa for now. I'm going to take Denzel on my bike so that we get there faster." Cloud instructed, glancing over his shoulder at Tifa for a moment as he began crossing the bar on his way to the front door.

"This- this is for real!" Denzel laughed, running alongside Cloud and still holding his hand.

"Yes Denzel," Cloud said with a smile, looking down at the boy as he pushed the door open and stepped out. "Yes it is."


	2. Chapter 2

Tifa paced behind the bar, her mind a turmoil of emotions that she couldn't understand right now. She hadn't expected a cure to be found so soon, or at all in fact. Was there a scientist somewhere who had discovered a cure, or was it found in the ground?

Everything was so confusing that she soon found herself questioning everything that had happened recently and wondering whether it had happened at all. Had she imagined Cloud bursting in looking so happy, or not? Although, just looking over to the stairs answered that question for her as Marlene stood there anxiously, also awaiting Cloud and Denzel's return.

There was something else that was nagging at the back of Tifa's mind which she wasn't sure of, but she hadn't thought of it much until she forced herself to sit down on a stool. When Cloud had glanced over his shoulder at her on his way out his smile had seemed different somehow, but she wasn't sure _how_ exactly.

With a sigh, she figured she was probably just reading into everything.

Pulling out her phone, she searched through her list of contacts for one name in particular and then looked over at Marlene once she'd found it. The girl was watching her closely.

"I'm going to call your father, alright Marlene?" Tifa told her.

"What for?" Marlene asked, stepping down from the stairs and walking over to her.

"I guess... just to see whether he's heard about a cure where he is." Tifa shrugged. "He probably hasn't, but I'd just like to call anyway."

"Okay." Marlene shrugged and walked back to the stairs, this time sitting down and resting her chin on her hands.

Tifa clicked on Barret's name and then held the phone to her hear, waiting patiently for him to pick up as it rang.

"'Lo? Tifa?" came the voice.

"Hey Barret," Tifa greeted him. "I was just calling to ask... you haven't heard anything about a cure yet have you?"

"Believe me, if I did you'd be the first person to know." Barret said.

"I thought so, but thanks anyway." Tifa sighed.

"Is there something wrong?" Barret asked, now sounding worried. "He's not worse, is he?"

"No, no," Tifa said, shaking her head even thought they weren't speaking face to face. "It's just... well, Cloud came in a moment ago claiming he'd found a cure. His geostigma was gone from his arm and he took Denzel to go fix him up."

"What? That's great!" Barret roared over the phone. "Why aren't you celebrating?"

"I just-" Tifa stopped and looked over at Marlene, who's eyes were fixed on her as she had suspected. With an apologetic look in her eyes, she stood from the stool and walked off to another room, shutting the door. "Honestly, it all just seems a bit weird to me."

"How come?" Barret asked.

"Well, I guess I just thought that when a cure was found people would be running and screaming it everywhere. But Cloud's keeping it quiet for now because he said there wasn't enough for everyone yet." Tifa explained, rubbing her forehead with a hand.

"It does sound a bit weird," Barret agreed. "But maybe there's another reason Cloud's keepin' it quiet. Have a talk to him when he gets back, yeah?"

"I will, thanks." Tifa said. "I just wanted to ask someone-"

She stopped then, frowning as she heard the sound of the front door opening. Was Marlene going outside for something? Then she heard a voice.

"Tifa! Cloud's back!"

"Barret, I'll have to call you back. Thanks for your help!" Tifa didn't even wait for a reply and snapped her phone shut, pocketing it and darting out of the room to see for herself.

Marlene was standing up on the stairs but she was clenching the railing tightly and Tifa frowned, turning to see Cloud standing in the doorway with his sword in his hands and his eyes darting around worriedly.

"Where's Denzel?" Cloud asked.

"What? Cloud... you took Denzel to get cured." Tifa said, her heart pounding in her chest loudly. Why was this happening now? What had happened to Cloud and _where was Denzel!?_

"Cured? From what?" Cloud asked, lowering his sword slightly.

"The stigma! What else, Cloud?" Tifa asked angrily. She couldn't handle this right now, not when their pain had been lifted moments ago.

"Who took him?" Cloud asked desperately. Tifa glanced over at Marlene, who was looking right back at her with a terrified expression on her face.

Moving her gaze back to Cloud, Tifa took a deep breath before softly saying, "You did."


	3. Chapter 3

The screech of tires interrupted the silence of the forest and, had there been birds, they would have flown away in fright. But there were no birds in that forest to be startled by the sound and Cloud continued making his way through the trees without distractions. He wasn't sure where he was going yet, but he knew he had to find Denzel and the person claiming to be him before anything bad happened.

Roaring through a clearing and into the dense trees at the other side, Cloud suddenly felt a pull at his mind and had to fight to keep focused. He knew he was getting close, because whoever it was that had Denzel wanted to get to him and had started trying to pull him in. He didn't even care if he was risking his life any more, because he had to get Denzel out of there safely.

A darkness settled over his mind and he abruptly slowed his bike, desperate to keep himself alive so that he was still able to do something for Denzel and doing his best to get rid of the darkness at the same time.

_When one becomes two._

Cloud jerked and skidded his bike to a stop, putting a foot down onto the ground to stop the vehicle faster. Where had that voice come from? He scanned the area around where he now sat, stationary, looking for any sign of movement among the glowing blue trees.

A sharp pain shot through his mind suddenly and he let out a yell, getting off his bike and letting it crash to the ground as he clutched at his head. But just as suddenly as it had come did it leave again and he stood in the silent forest listening to his shaky breaths.

"Cloud!" came a shout and he spun to the side, eyes widening as he saw Denzel standing at the foot of a tree a fair distance away. He appeared to be alone, but Cloud didn't trust it and searched with his eyes for anyone else in the vicinity.

"Denzel, listen to me," Cloud called over to him. "Where's the person who brought you here?"

"It's you! You brought me here!" Denzel shouted, and that was when Cloud noticed the pain in the boys voice and the clenched fists at his sides. "What are you playing at?"

"Denzel, please," Cloud started to say, but a laugh from behind him made him turn around.

_When one becomes two._

"Hello, Cloud."

His heart leapt into his throat and he couldn't speak as he stared in horror. He was staring at himself, although this version of him was smiling and didn't have a left sleeve.

"Who are you?" Cloud asked finally when he found his voice again.

"Who do you think? I am you." the man said with a chuckle.

"That's not possible! Tell me who you really are!" Cloud demanded angrily, pulling his sword off his back swiftly, only to be met with the other man's sword. He was slightly reassured to see that his copy didn't have the same sword as he did and instead only had a standard one. Much easier to defeat.

"Remember when your friend Zack Fair was helping you escape ShinRa and you ended up in Professor Hojo's care?" the man asked calmly, acting as if he wasn't in a situation where a fight could start up any moment.

"What about it?" Cloud asked sceptically, narrowing his eyes.

"Hojo didn't just give you Mako poisoning, you know," the man said smugly. "In fact, he cloned you. Both of you."

_Zack_, Cloud thought instantly, his mind bringing up an image of his best friend from SOLDIER. Could there be an exact copy of him walking around somewhere? Would he act like the original Zack?

He knew the answer to that, though. It was no. If there _was_ a Zack, he wouldn't act the same. He would be as different from the original as this man was from himself.

"Zack's clone died," the man said as if he had read Cloud's mind. "Apparently his fate was tied to the original's fate and there was nothing Hojo could do about it. So I guess that means if you die I die too."

_Well,_ Cloud thought to himself, _at least I know he won't kill me_.

"I thought I'd have some fun, though, since Sephiroth's no longer around to torment you." the man laughed.

"What are you getting from this?" Cloud asked. There _had_ to be another reason why this man was doing this other than just for the satisfaction of seeing him in pain. After all, they'd never met until now so there was no reason for him to be holding a grudge.

"What I'm getting is all I ask for," the man said quietly. "And I'm sure if you were in my position you would do the same."

"I would never choose to hurt someone if I could prevent it." Cloud said instantly and sharply.

"Then we really are _nothing_ alike." the man laughed.

"Tell me what you're getting out of this!" Cloud ordered angrily, bringing the man from his mindless enjoyment.

"You want to know? Well there's only one thing, and it's being able to watch you suffer." the man informed him, lowering his sword slightly. "Why? Because I'm the clone and you're the real person. How do you think that makes me feel? You got the life... and I got the sped-up growth."

"It's not my fault. You should be taking it out on Hojo!" Cloud argued.

"Don't you understand? I want to wreck your life so that you no longer have anything. So that you're like me! No friends, no family, no possessions and just left with a heart full of pain." The man slowly raised his sword again and smirked, giving Cloud a queasy feeling in his stomach because it was like watching himself turn bad.

"You don't have to do this." Cloud said gently, but he tightened his grip on his own sword nevertheless.

"What would be the fun in that?"


	4. Chapter 4

Tifa sat with Marlene on the stairs, holding the girl in her arms and rocking gently back and forth to try and comfort her. Neither of them spoke, both knowing the truth that there was no cure for geostigma and that Denzel was in a lot of trouble right now. As soon as things had been explained to Cloud he had left as fast as he could and Tifa only hoped he would be able to find them and make things right.

Thinking back on it, Tifa now understood the change that she had seen in 'Cloud' when he had turned back to smile at her as he led Denzel away. She hadn't thought of it before because she had believed it was Cloud, but now that she knew it wasn't she could say that the smile had seemed malicious.

Also, she didn't know why she hadn't thought about it, but when he had first left with Denzel there had been no sound of a motorbike driving away.

Marlene pushing away from her and standing up brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up at the girl, following her gaze to the front door once again.

"Did you hear something?" Tifa asked softly.

"Yes," Marlene whispered. "But it didn't sound good."

Tifa took a deep breath and stood as well, putting an arm around Marlene's shoulders and guiding her down off the stairs.

"Wait here and I'll see if it's him-"

The door opening made Tifa spin around, instinctively shielding Marlene with her body and watching as what appeared to be Cloud walked inside. He had blood on his face and chest and Denzel was holding tightly to one of his hands, but how could Tifa know for sure that it was the real Cloud and not the other one?

"It's me," Cloud said softly. "I... promised you that I'd always come for you when you were in a jam once. We were sitting on a roof-"

Tifa didn't need any more convincing and ran forward from protecting Marlene to hug him tightly, doing her best not to cry but finding it almost impossible. When she pulled away and looked down at Denzel she felt part of her heart tear apart at his look of sadness. Quickly kneeling down, she gave the boy a hug as well.

"I'm so sorry Denzel," Tifa sobbed. "I didn't know."

"I _will_ find a cure." Cloud said softly and firmly from where he stood, looking down at them with such a determined expression that it gave Tifa hope.

"Denzel..." Marlene said quietly, walking towards them. Tifa stood up and stepped away to allow Marlene to come forward and hug him then, and then Tifa and Cloud watched as the two children held onto each other tightly and cried with each other.

"Who was he?" Tifa murmured to Cloud as they stood there. Cloud put an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, letting out a soft sigh before inhaling the smell of her hair.

"Hojo cloned me," was all he said, but it was enough. Tifa didn't ask about the blood on his clothes or what else had happened out there but she didn't need to. They were closer now, due to an unexpected event, and they both knew that words would not be of much use now.

Cloud held Tifa against himself firmly, not wanting to let go because he knew, he just _knew_ that she would be feeling as upset as the children who continued to cry beside them. If he let her go she would return to looking after herself and he didn't want that, even though he had kept to himself a lot as well, he couldn't let her go on like that.

From that day, he resolved to change.

He would make sure he never overlooked Tifa' feelings ever again and would constantly check to see if she was handling things or not.

He would be the perfect Cloud.

He would be the Cloud that Cloud could never be.

Gently resting his chin on top of Tifa's head, he hugged her against him and couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Cloud slowly blinked his eyes, turning his head to look around and see where he was. His head was pounding painfully and it felt as though he'd been run over by a bus. What had been said to him right before he was left on his own to slip into unconsciousness? That's right, "I've found a way to hurt you without feeling it myself."

Somehow pushing himself to his feet, he held one hand to his head as he used the other to keep himself standing by bracing it against a tree. His scanned the area quickly, realising he was in the same place as he had been before. He was glad of this, because at least he knew how to get back.

Leaving the tree, he began walking slowly through the trees in the direction that he knew would take him out of there. It would take a long time since he didn't have his bike, but he had to protect his family.

_I don't think so_.

Cloud had a fraction of a second to prepare himself before a pain shot up his spine and he collapsed on the ground with a yell. What was he supposed to do now? Apparently his clone could access his mind and knew everything he was trying to do.

But he couldn't just stay there and do nothing!

Groaning, Cloud pulled himself to his feet again and continued on his way, faster this time than he had been going before. No matter how many times his clone tried to keep him where he was, he would fight it. The pain was probably only in his mind, anyway.

_Are you sure it's in your mind, Cloud?_

Cloud froze, expecting another rush of pain to explode somewhere in his body, but nothing came. With a frown, he continued walking again. He needed to stop listening to the voice.

_Ouch, your arm looks painful._

Fighting not to look down at his arm, he kept walking. The clone was nowhere near, so how could he know anything about his arm? That was the one thought that kept him focusing his eyes forward on the path he was taking, but when a small pain appeared in his arm and gradually increased, he had to look down.

His arm was bleeding. He didn't remember cutting it on anything, but there was a cut which the blood was coming from as it flowed down and over his glove.

Snapping his head up again suddenly, he tried to ignore it. His clone was possibly messing with what he could see, which meant the blood and pain wasn't there but he only thought it was. So if he ignored it enough it would go away and he would be fine.

As he walked, he felt like he wasn't getting anywhere. The forest wasn't thinning out at all and Cloud began to panic at first, wondering what he would do if his clone was controlling that was well.

Suddenly, an image flashed before his eyes and he could see Tifa. It was as if she was looking at him and there was a smile on her face. Her lips moved to form words but he couldn't hear anything and wondered what was going on. The next moment, she laughed and shook her head, turning away to leave the room. Cloud saw his arm shoot out and grab hers, pulling her back.

_Should I kiss her for you, Cloud?_

A strangled cry escaped Cloud's lips as he realised what he was seeing and he stumbled sideways, blind because all he could see was Tifa.

"Let her go!" Cloud yelled to the emptiness of the forest, feeling desperate. Didn't she know it wasn't him? Couldn't she tell?

In response to his demand, a migraine attacked him with full power, bringing black dots to his vision which eventually blotted out Tifa's face. He fell to his knees again, making gasping noises as the pain was too much to handle.

His mind slipped and he fell into unconsciousness, not hearing as his clone said one final thing.

_She loves me more than you. I actually spend time with her._


	6. Chapter 6

Tifa glanced up from where she was folding the kids clothes and placing them in piles, looking at where Cloud sat with a map of Edge in front of him. Marlene and Denzel were on either side of him, both smiling as he traced a finger down the route he would be taking on his next delivery run. They loved it when he included them in his work.

"How long will you be gone today?" Tifa asked him, placing the last shirt on Denzel's pile.

"Not too long, but I was wondering if I could take one of the kids? Is that okay? One today and one tomorrow if all goes as planned." Cloud said with a soft smile. Denzel and Marlene's smiles had exploded into excited grins and they glanced at each other.

"Really?" Tifa asked, barely containing her own excitement. Maybe, in the long run, it had been good that Cloud's clone had shown up on the scene. At least now he realised just what he had in front of him and had decided to do something about keeping them.

"I'll only take one at a time so that you still have someone to stay and help you around the house." Cloud said, gently shooing the kids back from him as he stood and walked around the table, approaching her.

"Oh, alright." Tifa shrugged. Cloud stopped just in front of her and stared in her eyes before slowly moving his arm forward and touching her hand with his own.

"I thought that on the third day _you_ could come with me." he mumbled.

Tifa felt her cheeks go red in embarrassment, because she really did like the sound of that, but she tried to act cool and collected.

"What about the kids? We can't leave them here all by themselves." Tifa said with a slight frown.

"I'll figure something out, don't worry." Cloud said, slowly slipping his fingers between hers and giving a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry we haven't spent much time together."

"Cloud, it's alright, I understand." Tifa said quickly.

"Come on Marlene, they're getting all mushy." Denzel whispered loudly to the young girl, grabbing her arm and attempting to sneak out of the room. The huge grin on his face that the two adults saw when they turned to look was evidence that he was joking and Tifa laughed.

"Go on, we won't leave for the delivery just yet." Cloud encouraged, also finding the situation amusing.

He turned back to Tifa and fought to keep from smirking, stepping closer.

"Cloud-"

Her eyes had widened slightly as he bent his head towards her, but he wasn't going to allow her to say anything just yet. Instead, he kissed her, placing his other hand on the small of her back.

After a moment he pulled back and smiled again, resting his forehead against her own. Her mouth was still open slightly as she breathed shakily, shocked at what had just happened.

"Wow." she whispered.

Cloud didn't say anything for a moment, but kept smiling as his mind worked on something different. He had to work hard to keep his outward appearance relaxed as his mind sent out waves carrying completely different intentions.

But then the tables turned in an instant and he gasped, grabbing Tifa's shoulders tightly as an intense pain shot through his whole body and threatened to make his brain shut down.

If he had known his original could do the same thing as him, he would have been more careful!

Tifa quickly grabbed him to hold him up, fearful as he closed his eyes and cried out, trying to fight against the pain. She didn't know what was going on and hoped desperately that he would be alright.

"Stop it!" he finally yelled aloud, letting go of Tifa to slam his hands against the sides of his head and try to block it out.

His attempts did nothing and he soon found himself fading to a land of black which was quiet and soothing. He felt weightless and the pain was gone.

Unconscious.

Peaceful.


	7. Chapter 7

Cloud ran.

With his clone unconscious for the time being there was no chance of being stopped by the mind link. He was just thankful that he had managed to figure out how to use the link to benefit himself before it was too late. Now he had to make it back before his clone woke up again.

He was exhausted, not only because of the physical strain on his body as he ran with the wounds his clone had given him when they fought, but also because of the mental strain as he focused intensely on the mind of his clone. It nauseated him, being able to feel another mind so closely linked to his own, but he had to focus on it so that he would know the instant his clone began to wake up.

If only he knew where Fenrir was, but his clone had probably taken it with him when he left. It was up to his legs and his own will to make it back in time to save Tifa and the kids.

A twitch. That was all there was before Cloud knew the clone had surfaced from unconsciousness and he instantly attacked the mind with his own. Just as he had done before and had been done to him, he sent waves off pain through his clone to try and throw him into unconsciousness yet again.

_"Cloud! What's going on? What's happening?"_

Cloud stumbled in shock as he found himself hearing Tifa's voice. He could vaguely see her through his clone's eyes as she bent down cupped his face, eyes wide in horror.

_"Tell me what's wrong!"_

Cloud stopped running so that he could concentrate harder. He closed his eyes tightly and shot more pain through his clone before abandoning all reason and allowing his mind to be swept into the unknown connection.

He opened his eyes and saw himself looking up at Tifa.

"This- isn't me." he said faintly. He could feel his real body pulling at him, begging for him to return. But he had to talk to her.

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

"You're looking... at my clone. He left me in- in- in the forest. Our minds are l-"

Both Cloud and his clone suddenly roared in pain through the same mouth, sharing in the feeling inflicted by the clone who had attempted to only hurt Cloud but hurt himself as well in the process.

_"Cloud!"_

_"Make him stop! It's the clone! I thought I killed him but he's still alive. He's in the forest, trying to turn you against me. Please Tifa, don't let go of me!"_

Cloud felt hot tears splash down his face as he heard those words. He wished he had enough control over his clone to make him pass out, but the emotions sweeping through him were rendering him useless. Another wave of pain washed through him and he cried out, stumbling to his knees.

"Stop it!" he yelled, doing his best to send pain to his clone. He felt as though he was engaged in much more than a simple mind battle, especially since the pain that came from it felt incredibly real.

Lowering his head to the ground, Cloud tried to rest in that position as his clone stood up with the help of Tifa. They were currently taking a break.

Cloud took the opportunity in an instant, entering his clone's mind and opening his eyes to see Tifa once again.

"Tifa don't listen to him! He's lying! Please, you have to believe me! You're not with the real Cloud!"

"Cloud!" Tifa half sobbed, worry on her face as she studied his. "I don't know what to do!"

Cloud desperately wanted to tell her more, but his body pulled him back and he found himself once again staring at the dirt of the forest. He felt his clone preparing to send pain to him again but jumped in first, sending as much pain to his clone as he could possibly manage. He wanted to _kill_ that man for pretending to be him and fooling Tifa!

He gasped as he felt the clone's mind blacken again and hurriedly scrambled to his feet. He had to hurry. The sooner he got back to Tifa the better.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than normal and that it took so long! I've been really busy lately and quite frankly, you're lucky to have this! Haha. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! Encouragements are always welcome, especially now since I have a lot of stresses and don't really feel like writing much. I won't give up though, don't worry =] Thanks for reading!

* * *

Tifa sat on a chair near Cloud's slumped and unconscious form. He had passed out again and she was so worried about him but didn't know what to do. Thankfully the kids had gone to their room so they didn't know what was going on. She didn't need them to worry about the possibility of this Cloud being the clone.

She sighed, eyebrows drawn together sadly as she continued to watch him. She shouldn't have trusted him so easily when he told her about that night when he'd made a promise. If the clone and Cloud did share a link between their minds like she thought one of them had tried to tell her, the clone could have easily found out about that night from reading Cloud's mind.

Standing up, Tifa moved over and then knelt on the ground, gently running a hand through some of his hair. He was truly very handsome. But who was it?

Allowing her fingers to trace down his face, she pondered the possibility of it being the clone. The thought that she might have been tricked by the fake and she had even _kissed_ him made her pull her hand away again.

She didn't know what to believe. If the Cloud who was in the forest did arrive, how would she know which one was real? They looked and sounded identical.

Slowly leaning towards him again, Tifa lowered her head to his chest and put her ear against him. Breathing out a sigh, she closed her eyes and prepared herself to breathe in time with his heart beat. She didn't know why she wanted to, but just when she was about to breathe in again her eyes shot open and she froze.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The very sound sent shivers down her spine and she trembled without understanding why. It was just the sound of a heart beat. She had been expecting it.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Yet... there was something incredibly unreal about it.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was so perfect. Every beat exactly the same as the last. Had Cloud's heart always been like that? Did it mean he had excellent health?

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Or did it mean this was the clone?

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Tifa turned her head so that her other ear was resting against his chest.

Thump. Thump.

He was watching her.

Thump.

"Are you frightened?"


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hello darlings! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I quite like it, personally. Mwahahaha. I'll shut up and let you read now. Sorry for this completely pointless author note...

* * *

Every muscle ached inside him, burning from each step as he propelled himself forward as quickly as he could. He would occasionally grab sturdy-looking tree branches and throw himself further, although the landing jarred his knees immensely. He was ignoring all of it so that he could continue. No matter how much his body shook from the effort he would not give in.

As he moved, he focused his thoughts onto what was keeping him going. All the things worth fighting for.

Tifa. She needed him more than anything now that she'd opened a bar and was looking after Marlene and Denzel. She made good money, yes, but the money Cloud made from his delivery service was also needed to keep the place running and all the mouths fed.

Marlene. With Barret still searching for atonement Cloud was as good as a father to her. Would she ever be able to trust him again after this, though? He had let so many bad things happen to his family... would they ever look at him in the same way again? Would Marlene constantly beg for him to take her with him on deliveries anymore?

Denzel. The boy had grown up so much since they first found him but he still needed a father figure in his life. Cloud had to return so that he could give Denzel what he needed and make sure the boy grew up to be a mature young man who made wise decisions and didn't let the horrors of his past-

A cry escaped Cloud as he crumpled to the ground, all his limbs screaming in pain that was inflicted upon him from his clone. He tried to shield himself and shoot pain back but found himself unable to. Tears leaked from his eyes at the intensity of it and from the small stings in his hands he guessed he was clutching at the ground tightly.

_Boo._

"What is it you want?" Cloud roared, shouting the question aloud even though his clone could read his mind.

_I want a normal life. Is that really to much to ask for?_

The pain vanished and Cloud breathed heavily into the dirt, his body still trembling in the after-effects. He was covered in sweat.

"Then go find... somewhere else... to live." Cloud gasped out, relaxing his hands. "You can't have _my_ life."

_You really don't understand, do you?_

Cloud clenched his teeth in frustration, not responding verbally but knowing that his clone was aware of what he was thinking anyway.

_Let me make it perfectly clear for you. I am you. I am in love with Tifa. I love Denzel and Marlene just as much as you do. I have all your memories. Do you see now? I am going to fight for this family just as hard as you are._

Weakly, Cloud pushed himself to his feet.

"In that case, we'll both be fighting until we're dead," he said softly.

_There is, however, one difference between us._

"What, you're evil?" Cloud scoffed. It came to his attention for a brief moment that this was the longest conversation they had had with each other. It was a strange feeling.

An eerie silence came over the forest as Cloud's clone didn't respond. Cloud's eyes darted around fearfully despite the fact that he knew the clone was still at Seventh Heaven and nowhere near him at all. He took a step backwards and crushed some leaves beneath his boot.

He could still feel the presence of another mind, so he knew his clone had not fallen asleep, but the lack of an answer unnerved him and set him on edge. It gave him the feeling that someone was happening and he should know what... but his mind was blank.

A sudden throb of sadness pulsed through him and he gasped, clutching at his chest. At first he couldn't believe his clone was capable of feeling such an emotion but he quickly scolded himself. If his clone was the same as him then of _course_ he could feel sadness.

But why had he sent the feeling to him?

The answer came in a short, sad sentence.

_You could have saved Zack._


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: A slightly longer, sadder chapter. Oh and reviews make me writer faster -wink-.

* * *

_Lights flickered on and off, buzzing unnaturally in the otherwise silent room. Two figures sat hunched together on the floor of the cell, trying to keep warm but still shivering uncontrollably. A man stood on the outside, eyes gleaming proudly and mouth twisted into a sick smile._

_"Such lovely, well-behaved specimens," Hojo chuckled, his fingers flicking switches on the control panel which lay in front of him._

_One of the hunched figures groaned, sagging lower and resting his head on the other's shoulder. His energy was draining more and more every second._

_"Z-Zack?" the smaller one with blond hair looked down at his friend in worry. "You okay?"_

_"So... tired." Zack mumbled quietly past his lips._

_"You've gotta stay awake," the blonde pushed Zack's head up, but the man winced and let it fall back against the wall of the cell. "Please, Zack."_

_"Everything hurts, Cloud," Zack moaned. "My head... my arms... my chest..."_

_His mouth kept moving but no sound came out and Cloud looked out at Hojo desperately, but the man wasn't watching them. He was far too engrossed in reading some data that had just come up on his computer screen._

_Cloud turned back to Zack, wracking his brain for something he could do. He didn't even know what was happening! Why was Zack in pain and losing energy? Why was he himself feeling tired and sluggish? Had Hojo poisoned them?_

_Anything was possible, Cloud thought sadly. Since he and Zack had no idea how they had wound up back in the laboratory – they had escaped! Cloud had mako poisoning, yes, but Zack was strong enough to get them out and they were well away before suddenly they woke up on the cold floor again – there was a high chance Hojo had poisoned them in their sleep._

_Zack suddenly let out a cry of pain and Cloud's eyes widened. "What's wrong?" The black-haired man ignored the question, his hands pressing against his chest as he hunched over. Breaths became choked and Cloud scrambled up on his feet, moving slowly to the side of the cell closest to Hojo. It was amazing he could move at all._

_"Help!" Cloud yelled in desperation, glancing back to see Zack coughing and holding his head as if he had a migraine._

_When Hojo finally looked up to see what was going on, he didn't look at all surprised. On the contrary, he nodded sadly before tapping a command into his computer. Cloud didn't understand the reaction and yelled again, eyes wide in frustration. Thankfully Hojo looked up again._

_"What's happening?" Cloud screamed at him, exhausted but refusing to give up until he had an answer. Hojo folded his arms and shrugged._

_"He's dying."_

_"C-Cloud..."_

_Too horrified at the information he had been told to speak, Cloud instead opted to glare angrily at the scientist as he moved back over to his friend. Zack's face was white and he was shaking more violently before, scaring Cloud._

_With Hojo doing nothing to help and leaving soon after, they were alone. Zack continued to cough and choke, occasionally letting out worse screams of pain and clutching at a part of his chest or head. All Cloud could do was sit there and watch, murmuring meaningless words meant to comfort._

_It went on for hours._

_Finally, Zack relaxed. As soon as he did Cloud was on alert again, asking his friend questions and trying to keep him awake so that he wouldn't fall asleep to never wake up again._

_"Cloud," Zack whispered. "We're clones. We have to be."_

_Cloud frowned, not understanding what his friend meant._

_"I can... I can talk to the real Zack." A wistful smile came across Zack's face and he weakly turned his head to look up at his friend. "He took on a whole battalion of soldiers to save the real you. He became a hero."_

_"You're not making sense," Cloud said sadly, but Zack didn't seem to care and stared up at the ceiling again._

_"You're gonna be okay," Zack said happily. "You're feeling better now, right?"_

_Regretfully, Cloud had to nod in agreement. He was feeling a lot better than before even though his limbs were still heavy, but he hadn't wanted to tell Zack since his friend obviously was _not_ getting any better._

_"I guess..." Zack paused to take a strained breath before continuing. "A clone's not meant to be a hero, is it? So it's okay that- that I'm going this way."_

_"You're not going to die." Cloud snapped, swallowing and turning his face away to hide the tears that fell from his eyes._

_"I am, Cloud," Zack said softly. "But it's okay. Because you're gonna get out of here alive. I just know it."_

_Cloud didn't respond, not wanting to give in to what seemed inevitable now._

_"My... I mean the real Zack's sacrifice," Zack said slowly. "Is worth it if you live."_

_"The real you is dying too?" Cloud asked dejectedly, his heart hurting so badly he wouldn't be surprised if it had literally been torn and was bleeding within his chest._

_"Yeah," Zack laughed faintly, his voice a lot quieter than before as well. "He went and got himself shot."_

_They were silent for a while, enjoying each others company in the obvious last moments of Zack's life. It felt like time had frozen for Cloud, and he wanted to keep it that way with Zack still alive beside him._

_The end came too soon with a sudden shriek from Zack as his eyes flew open wide and a scream followed from within Cloud's own mind._

_"Zack?" Cloud grabbed his friends hand and held it tightly, watching as Zack gasped and his eyes wavered uncontrollably, no longer able to focus on one thing alone._

_"He's gone-" Zack gasped out. "There's nothing- nothing to keep me here. Cloud," Another deep, wrenching gasp. "Cloud, _live!_"_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I'm ba~ack! So to celebrate finishing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, where people all over the world challenge themselves to write 50,000 words within one month - November) I decided to post this. Well, I had to write it first, haha. But yes, here it is! I hope you enjoy it! And about me saying that reviews make me write faster, then disappearing for a while... it's still true! I just got overcome by NaNoWriMo! ^^;

* * *

Cloud awoke on the ground of the forest, blinking his eyes sleepily as he tried to sit up. He did not remember falling asleep, instead the only thing that filled his mind was pain as he remembered Zack's death.

His clone had opened his mind to him and pulled him inside, allowing him to relive Zack's clone's death as well. He breathed out slowly and paused as he sat there, closing his eyes again for a moment.

"I'm sorry," he murmured quietly. "I'm so sorry. If I could have done something... I would have! Don't you understand that? If you really are like me at all, you should know I'm telling the truth! I couldn't _do_ anything for him!"

_You didn't even try to fight the effects of the mako poisoning!_

"Yes I did!" Cloud shouted, standing up fully now and wishing he could stare in the face of his clone as he spoke. "I couldn't move!"

_Then how come _I_ could move more than you when I was in Hojo's lab?_

"I don't know..." Cloud sighed and leaned against a tree, still sore from everything that had happened recently. "Maybe it's because you're just a clone. You only feel effects from what happens to me, not the full force. So maybe you only felt some of the mako poisoning effects but weren't weighed down entirely by them."

_That's a possibility. Still, you should have tried harder._

This time, Cloud didn't respond right away. Instead, he allowed the words to resound in his head and repeat themselves over and over again. After all, they weren't so different to all the things he'd told himself after Zack's death.

But after a moment, he spoke. "I've always wished for there to be someone else I could blame for Zack's death. I guess you're just glad it wasn't you, right?"

Silence.

"Look," Cloud closed his eyes again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We got off on the wrong foot. If you had just come to me and asked for help I would have tried to-"

_But you never would have given up your family for me, so I had to take it by force._

"That's what I don't understand!" Cloud replied quickly. "How on earth could you do such a thing, telling Denzel you'd found a cure, when you _knew_ it would break him? And if you are me, how do you justify causing so much pain to me when I'm the real one? How could you do all that? Did something else happen to you to make you so bitter about everything?"

_It helps that I hate you for not saving Zack._

"But you know I couldn't have done anything for him!"

_So what? Maybe I _do_ just want someone to blame for everything! And in a strange way, blaming you is blaming myself!_

"Let me come," Cloud whispered suddenly and determinedly. "Let me come to meet you again so that we can talk in person. We can figure this out!"

_You don't deserve this family._

"And you _do_? You're just a clone!" Cloud shouted in frustration, clenching his hands into fists now.

_You may love them, but you're too stupid to show it. I have been showing Tifa that I love her, but you always pushed her away!_

"I was... I was scared," Cloud mumbled, shocked that his clone was pinpointing all of his problems exactly.

_You never spent much time with the kids, either. Why is that? Because you were too busy working on your bike and wallowing in self-pity. It's about time someone came along to wake you up and show you what you were missing._

"If you had lived my life you would have done the same things!" Cloud accused sharply, silencing his clone for a moment. "Because... because you _are_ me. So this- all of this that you're saying is just anger at yourself. You're angry because you don't want to face the knowledge that this could have been you. It _is_ you!"

_Shut up._

"And now you're trying to fix it by taking control of the situation. You've imagined me to be the embodiment of every bad trait within you and now you're trying to get rid of it!"

_Shut up!_

"But it doesn't have to be like this. We can figure something out if you let me speak to you in person."

_No._

"Did you honestly think you would be able to keep me here in the forest for the rest of your life? You can't just kill me to get me out of the way because you'll die too, but can you seriously spend the rest of your life weakening me down and keeping me here just so that I don't get in the way of what you want? Soon enough you'll be too tired to keep going-"

_I won't._

"-Or I'll get so weak that I die anyway. Then what would happen?"

_It won't happen._

"I see. You didn't think about that. Well, I want to help you. So let me come and talk to you in person."

The clone was silent for a while and Cloud silently hoped that he would be able to get through to him and make him see sense.

"Please."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I suppose I could write an apology here, but I don't think it would really make a difference. You'll all still hate me for taking so long to update. So, no apologies, just a chapter. Enjoy! And I won't ask for reviews because you'll probably just yell at me, right? :P

* * *

Cloud sat on his bed with his head in his hands, his body trembling. What was he doing? Why was he acting like this? This wasn't him.

"What have I become, Zack?" he murmured to himself, chest heaving with the effort to hold back tears. He didn't want to be like this. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He just wanted his life back!

"Um, Cloud?"

Tifa's gentle voice came from the doorway but he didn't look up at her. She knew who he was, now. He had admitted to being a rejected clone when he saw just how worried she was. He just wanted her to be happy.

"Marlene's been asking about you," Tifa continued, stepping into the room slightly. "She and Denzel don't understand what's going on. And I- I don't know what to tell them."

"Tell them the truth if you want," Cloud said.

"I can't."

Taking more steps into the room, Tifa slowly sat down on the bed beside him. Quickly, he turned his face away from her. So much guilt welled up within him and he felt disgusted by his recent actions. How could he justify what he had done? Had he really believed he would be able to punish himself by punishing the real Cloud?

"Please, Cloud." Tifa laid a hand on his arm. "I want to help."

"You want to help a Clone... who is trying to take over your family?"

"You're the same person," Tifa said. "I can only imagine how hard this must be for you!"

"That's right, you can only imagine. There is no way you could truly understand the pain I feel every single day. I had to watch _him_ go about his life and do so many things I wanted to do myself. I had to watch _him_ screw up every chance with you and ignore the kids he claimed to love. I had to- I had to watch Zack die while _he _let himself fall victim to mako poisoning!"

"Blaming him isn't going to do any good!" Tifa squeezed his arm gently, trying to calm him down. "You know you're only blaming yourself."

"Just leave me alone," he pleaded softly, his shoulders drooping. "I need to think."

Tifa stood up but continued to look down at him, a sad frown on her face. "I'll be here if you need me, alright? Just downstairs with the kids. Don't be afraid to come join us."

"You're not afraid of me being near them?"

"Why would I be afraid of that? You may not be the real Cloud, but you're as good as," Tifa said firmly. "So once you're done thinking and feeling sorry for yourself, I want you to know that you're welcome to join us downstairs again, just like you were doing before you told me who you were."

Cloud stared down at his hands and tried to fight the desire to ask a question that had risen to his mind. It would only cause him pain to find out the answer to it. Yet, as Tifa continued to stand in his room waiting for some sort of response from him, he found it impossible to resist.

Looking up slowly, he spoke.

"If I'm as good as the real Cloud," he began softly. "Who do you love more?"

Tifa stared at him in surprise, her eyes widening at the question he had just asked her. She knew she loved Cloud, but now that there were two of him? Truthfully, the clone had been the first to show any actual interest in her and she quite liked that he was brave enough to do that, but if they were the same...?

"I-"

"Tifa!"

Spinning around, Tifa looked down at Marlene. The girl had just appeared in the doorway and was breathing heavily from shock, her frightened gaze looking past Tifa to where Cloud was still sitting on the bed.

"What is it?" Tifa asked quickly as she stepped forward and gently gripped Marlene's shoulders, wondering what had caused her to look so scared.

"C-Cloud," Marlene whispered, tearing her eyes from the clone to look up at Tifa. "He's downstairs."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: This is only here so soon because SOMEONE on dA really wanted it. So. Yeah.

* * *

Cloud leaned against the wall just inside the door, breathing heavily and keeping his eyes down. Denzel was standing not far from him, the boys' blue eyes glaring accusingly as neither of them spoke. They could hear faint voices from another room which told of Marlene informing Tifa that they had a visitor, and Cloud tried not to think about what his Clone had been doing while he was gone.

It wouldn't do any good to get angry again right after he had made up his mind to try and help the situation as best as he could.

A door opened and Cloud lifted his eyes to see Tifa walking in, Marlene trailing behind her fearfully. Cloud hated seeing them like this - terrified of him.

"Cloud?" Tifa murmured softly, her eyes tracing his face and taking in the scratches which were obviously from the trees in the forest.

"I need to- I need to talk to him," Cloud said, not looking at the kids but keeping his eyes fixed to Tifa's. He needed her to understand that he was trying to make everything right again.

"Cloud," Tifa stepped closer to him, reaching a hand out to gently touch his arm. "I'm- I'm so sorry I didn't realise. He just..."

"It doesn't matter," Cloud said, shaking his head and stepping away from her. All he wanted was to hold her tightly and reassure her that he was the real one, but he knew he had a job to do first. It was important. "I want to help him."

"So do I!" Tifa agreed hurriedly. "I mean, it's not his fault that you were cloned, is it? And-"

"Cloud was _cloned_?" Marlene gasped.

Looking back at the young girl, Tifa nodded solemnly. "Yes, he was."

"So how do we know which is the real one?" Marlene asked, eyes wide as she stared at Cloud before glancing back at the door she and Tifa had walked through, obviously wondering about the Cloud who was still in his room.

"The one in Cloud's room at the moment is the Clone," Tifa said. "I know because he told me."

"But..." Marlene frowned, looking up at Cloud again. "So we've had the clone here for days without knowing?"

"Yes, but listen," Cloud moved over to Marlene and bent down so he was on her level. "I'm going to go and talk to him right now and find out exactly what he wants so that everything can be sorted out. You don't have anything to worry about. I'm going to protect you."

"How will we tell you apart though?" Marlene asked, her bottom lip quivering slightly.

Glancing up at Tifa, Cloud wondered the exact same thing. The Clone had already shown himself to be exceptionally good at impersonating him, so after Cloud went in to talk to him, how would the others be able to tell them apart?

"I'm not sure," Cloud admitted.

"Wait," Tifa suddenly said, eyes wide. "You arm, Cloud, show me your arm."

Straightening up, Cloud hesitated. Why did Tifa want to see his arm? She didn't know... did she? But how could she? He had never told anyone.

"Cloud," Tifa said, now more firmly than before. "Your Clone doesn't have geostigma. That's how we'll be able to tell you apart."

Remaining silent for a moment, Cloud stared into Tifa's eyes. There was pain in them and he knew it was because she felt hurt that he had never told her that he had also gotten the stigma. But at the same time, there was urgency. They both knew they would talk about it later, but for now there was a job to be done.

"You've got it too?" Denzel spoke up, bringing Cloud's attention to him. The boy looked horrified. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I-" Cloud swallowed. "I didn't want to upset anyone. I didn't want you thinking... that I wasn't strong enough to help you."

"You always were afraid of admitting the truth, weren't you?"

Snapping his head up, Cloud locked his gaze onto the Clone and narrowed his eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So it's been over a year I hope you're all not preparing to murder me because that would be sad and very unproductive for the future of this story.

_How about I just say - oops? BUT HOW. SERIOUSLY. EACH CHAPTER IS ABOUT A PAGE LONG IN MY WORD DOCUMENT. IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO WRITE A PAGE AND POST IT. I LITERALLY JUST SAT DOWN TODAY AND WROTE HALF A PAGE BECAUSE THE OTHER HALF OF THIS CHAPTER WAS ALREADY WRITTEN AND I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW I CAN BE SO UNBELIEVABLY LAZY THAT IT TAKES ME OVER A YEAR TO WRITE ONE PAGE OF STORY I AM SO SORRY BUT IT'S ALSO SO HILARIOUS I'M GOING TO CRY FROM LAUGHING SO HARD._

Is there actually anyone left reading this?

* * *

"Can I talk to you in private please?" Cloud asked, watching his Clone and hoping for the other man to agree without a fuss. He didn't want this to happen in front of Marlene and Denzel. They were frightened enough already without having to hear Cloud argue with himself about life decisions he'd made.

"So you can hide the truth again?" his Clone spoke up, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

Cloud hesitated for a moment, sighing, before replying softly, "I'm not so sure I'm the one trying to hide something this time."

From the side of the room, Tifa quietly collected Marlene and Denzel before steering them from the room. Cloud was glad she had thought to do that as it meant he would be able to speak privately with his Clone even if his Clone didn't want to move somewhere else.

"I've got a question for you," Cloud began slowly. His Clone was still simply staring at him and had not reacted to his previous accusation at all. "If you've been alive since Zack and I escaped, where have you been? Everything that's happened since then... did you witness it? And if you did, why didn't you help?"

"What do you mean?" His Clone frowned in confusion, clenching his hands into fists nervously.

"I mean if you've been watching me ever since you got out, which would explain how you know all about me, then why didn't you ever step in to help the family you claim to love?"

The confusion in his Clone's eyes deepened and the other man looked down at the floor, concentrating hard on something which he was clearly having difficulty understanding. Why hadn't he ever helped? Where had he been hiding? Why had he waited until now to come charging in?

"Until you have an answer for me-" Cloud spoke up again. "-this family is mine. I can't trust you and you've already broken Denzel's heart by giving him the possibility of a cure and then ripping it away from him again."

"But I never meant-"

"I know." Cloud nodded slowly. "You never meant to hurt him so much. You claim to love this family as much as I do but how can you? You've been watching from the outside. _I'm _the one who loves this family. And if Hojo created you back when we were still at ShinRa, then that means you've only actually met Denzel and Marlene a few days ago."

"That doesn't mean I can't love them!" His Clone stepped closer and clenched his hands into fists by his sides.

"So you've grown attached just by watching? I don't think you understand. You are _literally _just trying to take my place and become me again. You don't have any kind of personal connection to the kids. They're _mine_." Cloud folded his arms and lifted his chin slightly. "And now I want you to work at remembering what you've been doing the past few years and why you've waited this long to jump in and save the day."

Cloud stood there a moment, staring at his Clone and allowing his words to sink in before striding past the man and going to the room with Tifa and the kids. He needed to reassure them that everything was going to be alright and he also really needed to speak to Tifa.


End file.
